TO: Jason Neiffer’s Class
Helena, MT
FROM: Brian Seilstad’s Intermediate/Advanced English Class
Amizmiz, Morocco
Dear All,
Greetings from Morocco! My name is Brian Seilstad, and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in this fine country. I hope that this letter finds you all doing well and that this letter will only be the beginning of much rich communication between us. Perhaps many of you know about the Peace Corps in general and maybe even some of you know of the three goals of the Peace Corps.
1—Bring technical assistance to developing countries.
2—Help Americans understand other cultures.
3—Help other cultures understand Americans.
As you can see, these are relatively simple goals that have many possible applications. For me personally, I work in the Youth Development sector, which means that I work in the Amizmiz Dar Chebab (Arabic for ‘House of Youth’—you can think of it as a community youth center), where I provide free English lessons and, more importantly, I believe, activities and events designed to help the youth in Morocco learn more about themselves, their community, and the world, with the aim of helping them gain the skills necessary to achieve their own goals. Morocco is a nice country for one to serve in—it is, in a way, ‘second world’, meaning that it is not beset by the major problems of poverty or infrastructure that plague the ‘third world’. Indeed, the country is a good example of a country that was in a very poor position just fifty years ago under the French colonization, but, through their own initiative and foreign assistance, has come far in a relatively short time. However, many challenges remain, which is why Peace Corps still exists in this country. For example, my town is well equipped with running water, power, ten cyber cafés, a good local market, two high schools, transportation, and so on, but one need only go about one kilometre from town to find people living without running water or electricity. This is the major challenge to Morocco today—bringing improved infrastructure and opportunities to the rural poor. I see the importance of my role in helping to improve this generation of young Moroccans who, I hope, will become the leaders of their communities and country in the future. For that reason, I have contacted you all and Mr. Neiffer to give my Intermediate and Advanced students the opportunity to learn more about students about their age in America.
As you may realize, American society and culture is rather pervasive in the world. Films, Movies, Books, News, and so on all flow out of America and are consumed by the world. Personally, I view this positively in that the world is choosing our products and likes what they see. However, we all know that the image presented by American culture and especially media does not express the reality for all Americans or even the predominate reality at all. Personally, I have had debates with Moroccans who are convinced that, for example, blacks in America live in constant fear for their lives due to the ubiquitous and malevolent racism present in our society, or that people in America have sex together in parks in the public view (I’m not kidding—somebody did assert that to me). It is a frequent struggle for me to acknowledge that, while the problems and issues people see on TV have some basis in truth, it is dangerous and irresponsible to accept these images and ideas as fact. Thus, it is my hope that, through an exchange between our two classes, some of these issues can be raised and explored to the mutual enlightenment of all.
Also, through this exchange, you students in America have the opportunity to learn first hand about Morocco, its people, religion, culture, and so on. I also grew up in Montana (Denton) and know that Montana, while being a wonderful state in many ways, does lack some of the diversity present in other states and countries. For example, before I came to Morocco, I had only known personally one other Muslim. This experience has expanded my life immensely and I hope that you all will take this opportunity to do the same. Who knows, maybe you’ll even make some new friends. Thank you all for participating in this. My students and I are looking forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Brian Seilstad and Students in Amizmiz
Helena, MT
FROM: Brian Seilstad’s Intermediate/Advanced English Class
Amizmiz, Morocco
Dear All,
Greetings from Morocco! My name is Brian Seilstad, and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in this fine country. I hope that this letter finds you all doing well and that this letter will only be the beginning of much rich communication between us. Perhaps many of you know about the Peace Corps in general and maybe even some of you know of the three goals of the Peace Corps.
1—Bring technical assistance to developing countries.
2—Help Americans understand other cultures.
3—Help other cultures understand Americans.
As you can see, these are relatively simple goals that have many possible applications. For me personally, I work in the Youth Development sector, which means that I work in the Amizmiz Dar Chebab (Arabic for ‘House of Youth’—you can think of it as a community youth center), where I provide free English lessons and, more importantly, I believe, activities and events designed to help the youth in Morocco learn more about themselves, their community, and the world, with the aim of helping them gain the skills necessary to achieve their own goals. Morocco is a nice country for one to serve in—it is, in a way, ‘second world’, meaning that it is not beset by the major problems of poverty or infrastructure that plague the ‘third world’. Indeed, the country is a good example of a country that was in a very poor position just fifty years ago under the French colonization, but, through their own initiative and foreign assistance, has come far in a relatively short time. However, many challenges remain, which is why Peace Corps still exists in this country. For example, my town is well equipped with running water, power, ten cyber cafés, a good local market, two high schools, transportation, and so on, but one need only go about one kilometre from town to find people living without running water or electricity. This is the major challenge to Morocco today—bringing improved infrastructure and opportunities to the rural poor. I see the importance of my role in helping to improve this generation of young Moroccans who, I hope, will become the leaders of their communities and country in the future. For that reason, I have contacted you all and Mr. Neiffer to give my Intermediate and Advanced students the opportunity to learn more about students about their age in America.
As you may realize, American society and culture is rather pervasive in the world. Films, Movies, Books, News, and so on all flow out of America and are consumed by the world. Personally, I view this positively in that the world is choosing our products and likes what they see. However, we all know that the image presented by American culture and especially media does not express the reality for all Americans or even the predominate reality at all. Personally, I have had debates with Moroccans who are convinced that, for example, blacks in America live in constant fear for their lives due to the ubiquitous and malevolent racism present in our society, or that people in America have sex together in parks in the public view (I’m not kidding—somebody did assert that to me). It is a frequent struggle for me to acknowledge that, while the problems and issues people see on TV have some basis in truth, it is dangerous and irresponsible to accept these images and ideas as fact. Thus, it is my hope that, through an exchange between our two classes, some of these issues can be raised and explored to the mutual enlightenment of all.
Also, through this exchange, you students in America have the opportunity to learn first hand about Morocco, its people, religion, culture, and so on. I also grew up in Montana (Denton) and know that Montana, while being a wonderful state in many ways, does lack some of the diversity present in other states and countries. For example, before I came to Morocco, I had only known personally one other Muslim. This experience has expanded my life immensely and I hope that you all will take this opportunity to do the same. Who knows, maybe you’ll even make some new friends. Thank you all for participating in this. My students and I are looking forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Brian Seilstad and Students in Amizmiz